dreadful

dreadful — adjective

1. making someone feel very frightened, shocked, or deeply upset — for example, whe

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

making someone feel very frightened, shocked, or deeply upset — for example, when a serious accident happens, a violent act occurs, or terrible news is received.

Example

A dreadful scream came from the building, and neighbours quickly called the police.

collocation: dreadful scream / dreadful news / dreadful dream

The earthquake caused dreadful damage to the older parts of the town.

Common collocations
  • dreadful news
  • dreadful accident
  • dreadful scream
  • dreadful damage
  • dreadful nightmare
  • dreadful crime
Synonyms
  • terrifying

    stronger emphasis on extreme fear; often used for threats to personal safety

  • horrifying

    focuses on shock and disgust rather than fear alone

  • shocking

    describes the surprise and upset caused by bad news or events

Antonyms
  • wonderful

    suggests something extremely positive and pleasing

  • reassuring

    describes something that calms fear rather than causes it

Usage Note

Less common in everyday conversation than sense 2 below. Reserve this sense for situations involving genuine fear or suffering, not mere annoyance.

Common Mistakes

I felt dreadful when I saw the spider.
I felt scared when I saw the spider.
For small everyday fears, 'scared' or 'frightened' is more natural; 'dreadful' suggests something much more serious.

2. extremely bad in quality or extremely unpleasant to experience — so unsatisfacto

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

extremely bad in quality or extremely unpleasant to experience — so unsatisfactory that you want to avoid it or complain about it.

Example

The hotel served a dreadful meal that tasted like cardboard and cold soup.

collocation: dreadful meal / dreadful service / dreadful film

The weather was dreadful all week, so the children played board games indoors.

collocation: dreadful weather

Common collocations
  • dreadful meal
  • dreadful service
  • dreadful weather
  • dreadful film
  • dreadful mistake
  • dreadful experience
Synonyms
  • terrible

    the most common everyday alternative; slightly less strong than dreadful

  • awful

    very similar in strength to dreadful; very common in spoken English

  • appalling

    formal register; suggests something shockingly bad that should not happen

Antonyms
  • excellent

    suggests very high quality, the opposite of extremely bad

  • wonderful

    describes something that gives great pleasure, opposite of unpleasant

Usage Note

Common after sense verbs (feel, look, taste, smell, sound): 'This soup tastes dreadful.' Do NOT use the adverb 'dreadfully' after these verbs — the adjective form is required.

Common Mistakes

The food tasted dreadfully.
The food tasted dreadful.
After sense verbs like taste, feel, and look, use the adjective, not the adverb.
I had a dreadful day because I lost my pen.
I had a terrible day because I lost my pen.
'Dreadful' is much stronger than 'terrible'; use it only for seriously negative situations, not minor annoyances.

3. used before a noun to strongly emphasise how great or extreme something is, espe

3.adjectiveB1
Definition

used before a noun to strongly emphasise how great or extreme something is, especially when you are annoyed, surprised, or impressed by the degree of it.

Example

Minho made a dreadful mess of the kitchen while cooking dinner for ten guests.

collocation: dreadful + abstract noun (mess / silence / guilt / hurry)

A dreadful silence fell over the classroom when the head teacher entered the room.

Common collocations
  • dreadful mess
  • dreadful silence
  • dreadful state
  • dreadful hurry
  • dreadful sense of guilt
  • dreadful shame
Synonyms
  • extreme

    more neutral and formal; lacks the emotional colour of dreadful

  • enormous

    focuses on size or degree rather than emotional impact

  • tremendous

    similar intensifying force but can be positive or negative

Antonyms
  • slight

    describes a small degree, the opposite of extreme

  • minor

    describes something unimportant or small in scale

dreadful — noun

Word family

  • dread
    verbB1
  • dread
    nounB2
  • dreadfully
    adverbB1
  • dreaded
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/2

All four words describe something extremely bad, but they differ in strength, register, and typical use. 'Terrible' is the most neutral and frequent choice — it covers everything from a bad headache to a national disaster. 'Awful' is slightly more informal and emotional than 'terrible'; it is very common in spoken British and American English. 'Dreadful' sits between 'awful' and 'appalling' in formality: it is stronger than 'terrible' but less formal than 'appalling.' 'Appalling' is the most formal and carries a sense of moral shock — something that should not have happened. For example: 'The hotel room was terrible' (just bad); 'The service was awful' (annoying, poor); 'The damage was dreadful' (seriously bad); 'The working conditions were appalling' (shockingly unacceptable).

dreadful ↗terrible ↗awful ↗appalling

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • absolutely dreadful
  • truly dreadful
  • really dreadful
  • quite dreadful
  • simply dreadful
  • so dreadful

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Dreadful is formed from 'dread' (deep fear) plus the suffix '-ful' (full of). The word 'dread' comes from Old English 'drǣdan,' meaning to fear greatly. The original meaning was 'causing fear,' first recorded around 1200. By the 1600s, the meaning weakened to 'very bad' in everyday use, and later developed an intensifier use (as in 'a dreadful mess'). The noun sense — short for 'penny dreadful,' a cheap sensational story — appeared in the mid-19th century.